Student Life

As two students are involved in a variety of campus communities, we understand the need for representatives of certain communities to better influence Student Assembly’s initiatives and advocacy regarding the student experience. Given this, our initiatives are, to the best of our ability, informed by various aspects of student life. We plan to create positions under the Executive Branch to best advocate for communities that Student Assembly may not currently represent.

Increased Representation for Prominent Communities: Student Assembly is not representative of all student organizations, and we oftentimes forget to include the perspectives of communities we are not a part of. We plan to create Undersecretary/Liaison positions for prominent student communities such as Athletics, the Arts, MCOs, and Fraternity & Sorority Life. We will assess the need for additional positions for more campus groups if/when the need arises. 

Residence Life: We know William & Mary’s dorms aren’t the most glamorous. Ask Terra: she's an RA in Boutetourt! We intend to establish an Undersecretary for Residence Life position to address student issues in residence halls and foster open dialogue so that ideas regarding housing can be heard sooner—whether it's dorm conditions, housing deadlines, or the effectiveness of submitting a work order—a student representative on the Student Assembly will facilitate streamlined conversations with Residence Life.

Improving the Student Experience, everywhere. We plan for the Department of Student Life to serve as a liaison and advocate for all Recognized Student Organizations. We will encourage and involve ourselves in student-led projects that improve the day-to-day student experience involving Auxiliary Services, Parking Services, and more. 

Terra and Oscar are theater kids at heart. Wren 10s? Musicals? Plays? Art exhibitions? We’re there. We believe that all students deserve equal exposure to the arts. The fine and performing arts allow us to think critically and reflect on the human experience—something that is necessary for a true liberal arts experience. We promise to work with Fine & Performing Arts organizations and the Executive Director of the Arts to advocate for the needs of music ensembles, theater and dance organizations, and visual art organizations. We know many students have felt unsupported and unseen, despite William & Mary's "Year of the Arts". Our administration is here to fill the gaps and make it a reality.

Increased communication with students involved in the arts: To bridge gaps in communication between Student Assembly and our arts community, we plan to create an Arts Committee. The committee will address and identify issues with our Arts departments and extracurricular activities, as well as assist the wider Student Assembly in promoting engagement and attendance for performances and exhibitions at William & Mary. 

Communication with Faculty: In Fall 2023, William & Mary unveiled two new buildings for the Performing Arts. We understand that communication between music/theatre faculty and students is not consistent or clear. We will aim to bridge the gap between Arts faculty and student-run performance organizations to ensure better communication over usage of building space as well as scheduling for performances and exhibitions. Student-run performances are just as important as those put on by the department. When students are not given spaces to perform, student performance organizations are hindered in sharing their work.

Storage: Theatre tropes have communicated using their off-campus residencies to stow away props, sets, costumes, and more. We believe that there should be on-campus storage allocated to student-run organizations, and if this is not feasible, working towards allocating funding so that these organizations may store their materials at an off-campus storage unit. No student should have to use their personal space as a props closet or scene shop. It is necessary to preserve materials to decrease expenses for later performances or exhibitions.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the Arts: We plan to work with Arts organizations to implement Arts-specific DEI trainings and programming that takes into account the power imbalances and biases that may come with auditioning for performance groups. As well, uplifting the visual arts of marginalized artists is of utmost importance and should be celebrated. We will ensure that spaces are given for artists who identify as POC, LGBTQ+, or disabled to display their work and ensure that it is valued and seen.

Dance Groups: Floors. You heard that right: floors. Because of the rushed re-opening of Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall, some rooms do not have appropriate facilities for groups to safely rehearse. Shock-absorbing flooring is necessary to prevent injury in joints and bones. In addition, we will ensure that student organizations that perform or rehearse away from PBK receive appropriate matting in order to protect knees and feet from floors that are not sprung.

Meet the Troupes: Similar to Meet Fraternity & Sorority Life (commonly referred to as Meet the Greeks), we will organize and host a meet and greet event for all performance, art, and improv organizations to make sure that students get to know groups they may be interested in before auditioning and/or applying. Arts organizations are tight friend groups—students should be granted the opportunity to get to know ensembles, troupes, and groups before joining. We will continue to support and increase engagement with semesterly A Cappella Showcases to spread the word about William & Mary's robust A Cappella community, as well as increase publicity for weekly Wren10s. 

Funding: Many a cappella groups, theatre troupes, and dance groups are not aware of the OBAC process and have been unable to communicate funding needs to Student Assembly. Money is essential for these groups in order to pay for album production, props, sets, costumes, and more. We will work towards bridging these gaps of communication and advocate for setting aside OBAC information sessions specifically for performance and art groups, as the material needs of these organizations may be more extensive than other RSOs.

WCWM 90.9 FM Radio Tower: Following our campus radio station's move to the Sadler Center from Campus Center, our student-run radio was left without a tower to share its music curations with audiences away from campus. We believe that it is the duty of WCWM to extend their programming beyond just the confines of our campus. In working with the Media Council as well as Student Assembly, we will engineer a solution for funding the construction of a radio tower and mast so that WCWM may be able to reach audiences as they have done before the move to Sadler. Our student-run radio is one of our biggest organizations on-campus, supported by diverse and integral members of our community, and deserves to reach audiences far and wide.

Advocating for fairer credit allocations for music ensembles: We understand some music ensembles face retention issues as the credits being awarded for participation do not equate to the rehearsals, performances, and tours that require of being in a music ensemble at William & Mary. We promise to investigate and advocate for the awarding of a fairer, equitable academic credit allocation for music ensembles in working with the Department of Music and the Office of the Provost and/or Dean's Office. 

See: Office of Compliance & Equity's Policy Library on Academic Credit Hours

Room and Venue Bookings: We plan to work with the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance to create user-friendly room and performance space booking protocols for Registered Student Organizations. Because many venues on-campus cost money to use, will work with organizations to ensure they are aware of the availability of funding through the OBAC process for performance spaces such as the Wren Chapel, PBK, and the Music Concert/Recital Halls.

See: General OBAC Information, PBK Reservations, Music Building Room Reservations

Increasing Communication with FSL: We plan to push for increased communication between Student Assembly and William & Mary’s Inter-fraternity, Panhellenic, and National Panhellenic Councils. We acknowledge the leadership of these councils, the students they represent, and the initiatives they set forth. While not all students choose to rush Greek-letter organizations, we understand and value the impact of these organizations on our experiences at W&M. 

Promote FSL-Led Health Campaigns: Campaigns led by our Fraternity & Sorority Life councils on topics such as Alcohol Awareness, Sexual Violence Prevention, Hazing Prevention, and more are important for the health of not only our Fraternity & Sorority Life community but the greater William & Mary community as well. We will support Health and Wellness initiatives set forth by the FSL councils.

See: W&M Interfraternity Council, W&M National Pan-Hellenic Council, W&M Panhellenic Council

The National Panhellenic Garden: In strengthening a relationship with NPHC, we promise to reinvigorate efforts for school-wide campaigns to complete the funding of the National Panhellenic Council Garden. With a rich history and invaluable contributions to our campus community, NPHC organizations deserve visible representation at William & Mary, as done on other college campuses. In reinvigorating these efforts, we will seek collaboration with the Assistant Director for Student Philanthropy, Office of University Advancement, and the Office of Student Leadership Development to lead more student-led campaigns as well as call for funds to come from sources other than students.

See: NPHC Garden, similar initiative at Wake Forest, UNC NPHC Legacy Plaza

In addition to FSL councils, we hope to work with Greek-letter cultural, Business, Honor/Service, and Music organizations that do not fall under the three FSL councils for joint Student Life initiatives and campaigns. We understand that these organizations bear a similar structure and may run into some of the same hurdles that must be addressed by Student Assembly.

Home Without Hazing Presentations-Let's include students in the mix. We recognize that students attend HWH presentations to check off their requirements for joining an organization with any barrier to entry, and we believe the information provided is essential for all new members of our campus community. This training deserves more than just being a box to check off. We recognize that conversations on hazing prevention are most productive when facilitated by students. Furthermore, we acknowledge that the practice of hazing is NOT limited to Fraternity & Sorority Life. We will strive to emphasize and facilitate these dialogues in all aspects of campus life by ensuring that students are an integral part of the Hazing Prevention Coalition and take part in facilitating HWH presentations. 

See: Virginia Law on Hazing, W&M Hazing Policies,  Hazing Prevention Coalition

Our favorite initiative: This one's a tough one—we hope to bring back FUN by reinstating Busch Gardens Day, by working with Student Assembly’s Senate and the Office for Student Affairs to subsidize park tickets and transportation to and from the park. 

See: W&M BUSCH GARDENS DAY